March 21, 2018

Baked carrot cake oatmeal

All the flavors of carrot cake put into a hearty and delicious baked oatmeal breakfast. This recipe is my contribution to this month's Fantastical Food Fight hosted by Sarah at Fantastical Sharing of Recipes. March's theme is: Carrot Cake! I am a huge carrot cake fan. I have sometimes requested my mom to make it for my birthday and we even had it for our wedding cake. I knew I wanted to do something a little different than making a traditional carrot cake for this event (though now I really would like a carrot cake). Over the past year I've been making baked oatmeal more frequently because my kids really enjoy it (I've made peanut butter, pumpkin, and zucchini bread versions for them). Plus, lately I've been putting vegetables into basically everything, so I thought our oatmeal breakfast would be a perfect place to showcase all the flavors of a carrot cake (even a cream cheese topping). We usually eat our baked oatmeal scooped into a bowl with a little milk, or cut into squares as best as possible (as it can be crumbly). For this version, I like it with just a big dollop of the cream cheese topping!

In a large bowl, stir together the oats through nutmeg. Then stir in the egg through walnuts until well-combined. Spread evenly into a baking dish.

Bake for about 25-27 minutes, or until golden and an inserted toothpick comes out cleanly from the middle.

While it is baking, whisk together all of the topping ingredients until smooth, adding more or less milk to get the consistency you desire (I like to set it on the stove so the heat from the oven warms it slightly and helps melt the cream cheese).

I'm SO excited about having two baked oatmeal recipes in the hop! I have made carrot cake oatmeal before and loved it, but every recipe is different and that means I get to have at least three recipes to rotate between :D